Center for Alcohol Policy Sponsors Prohibition Documentary

September 23, 2011

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Alexandria, VA – The Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP) is proud to announce its partnership with PBS station WETA in Washington, D.C., to sponsor the upcoming documentary Prohibition in the Washington, D.C., media market. This three-part, five-and-a-half hour film series directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick tells the story of the rise, rule and fall of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the era it encompassed. The series will premiere October 2 – 4 on PBS stations across the country.

“The Prohibition series will shine a national spotlight on the important role Prohibition played leading up to the 21st Amendment, which established today’s effective system of alcohol regulation and distribution,” said CAP Advisory Council member and former Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch. “Viewers of Prohibition will learn about the failures of this one-size-fits-all national alcohol policy and how it gave rise to a state-based system of alcohol controls. It’s important for citizens to understand that the repeal of Prohibition is not the end of the story – it’s where the story of today’s successful system began.”

CAP Advisory Council member and former police chief and state alcohol regulator Jerry Oliver continued, “Unlike other nations around the world that are making headlines for unregulated or unsafe alcohol, the United States maintains a state-based system of alcohol regulation that has been extremely effective at supporting robust marketplace competition while at the same time promoting public safety. The Center is excited to take part in this look back at our nation’s history and discussions of how society should regulate alcohol – a product that can have benefits in moderation but can also be abused. This attention to the history and origin of America’s state-based alcohol regulatory system is very timely to the Center’s recent republication of Toward Liquor Control, which helped guide alcohol policy in the states post-Prohibition.”